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Post by Adam Stepanovic on Aug 27, 2015 22:04:10 GMT -5
I'd like to establish an FKT post for the Skyline to the Sea trail as an out and back. From Waddell Creek TH to Saratoga Gap TH is 25 miles. From what I can tell after a moderate amount of searching online, there is no such documented FKT. That said, I feel like someone out there has to have done it at some point. The one way FKT seems to be from the annual Skyline to the Sea marathon which is completed from Saratoga Gap upper trailhead to the lower trailhead at Waddell Creek. Evan Gawlik did so in 3:28:18 in 2013. It would be fun to have that FKT worked on as well, as that's a fast time even if it's "mostly downhill." The trail has a tendency to feel uphill both ways!
My plan is to drive out to Waddell beach on Friday morning the 28th of August and begin at the Waddell Creek TH and run through to the Saratoga Gap TH, turn around, and run back to Waddell Creek. This should complete 50 miles total. I won't have any outside assistance of any kind, however I will exit the trail to fill up water at public watering holes at Big Basin HQ, then retrace my steps back to the trail to continue on.
I'll post all the details and my Strava tracks here when I'm done.
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Post by Leor Pantilat on Aug 28, 2015 16:14:11 GMT -5
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Post by Adam Stepanovic on Aug 29, 2015 14:10:12 GMT -5
It was a fun day yesterday, I think, but not an easy one. I did 12:01:55 which is three hours slower than my goal. Had to slow up a bunch to deal with heat sickness and to pace my water consumption. The weatherman was full of crap-- instead of the forecasted 81°F, it was 96°F for many hours of the day. Probably good heat training for fall races though. I chose the turnaround to be the first bench I could sit down on at the Saratoga Gap parking lot. The campers at Waterman Gap thought I was nuts when I frantically bombed to the spigot after an hour without water, proceeded to get stung by a bee, and danced around the spigot cursing. Also funny for the Silicon Valley day trippers at Big Basin Park HQ to see me on the return, when I bought 6 freeze pops, stuck two under my armpits, and laid facedown in the creek to get my core temp down so that I could eat/drink again. So, I guess it ended up being "quasi-self-supported" because I bought the stuff at the HQ store. Not sure how that blurs the rules of self-supported-ness. But damn it, the freeze pops were beyond delicious! And got me back to a reasonable pace. No regrets! I'll try again sometime when cooler weather is guaranteed. I really want to go sub 10hrs at least. I know some, noted by Loer's lightning fast time above, could go into the 8s or better for a round trip. www.strava.com/activities/379743156 |
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Post by robertrives on Apr 25, 2016 0:32:58 GMT -5
I repeated Adam's route and style (including the stop at the snack bar on the return trip) yesterday in 10h29m. Report here. I wasn't planning an FKT effort so I have no Strava or GPS data (I don't own these devices anyway). I'm happy to send original timestamped photos to anyone who is concerned with verification. Leor, was that you tailing me out of the Waddell Beach parking lot? Adam, the conditions are perfect right now - it might be time for your redemption run... |
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Post by Adam Stepanovic on Apr 27, 2016 11:56:57 GMT -5
Nice run Robert! I was indeed considering a go in the next few weeks. Amazing how the downhill return doesn't feel downhill. 10:29 is an excellent time. Hope to see you guys out there!
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Post by hughmac4 on May 4, 2016 9:46:27 GMT -5
Great report!!
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Post by socalrunner22 on Dec 27, 2016 14:14:32 GMT -5
Was just doing a little research. Here's a 10:36 out and back effort: www.strava.com/activities/379743156/overviewAnd it appears for the Saratoga-Waddell marathon route, the FKT is 3:00:47 (http://www.coastaltrailruns.com/bigbasin50.html). (There is another organization that puts on the same run, but their CR is ~3:27). |
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